Rules of CARBOHYDRATE LOADING
Great discussions with the Personify Fitness Group on perfecting carb loading ahead of endurance events, we wanted to share some of the useful tips (mainly focused around their half marathon and marathon goals):
🍞Reduce portion sizes (max 300 calories per meal, big snacks rather than usual meal sizes).
🥐Eat more regularly: recommend trialling in lead up or pre long training runs, high carb nutrition is different for everyone based on energy output and body shape.
🥔Pre-exercise: Slow release (low GI) carbs are better than fast release (high GI) for long term endurance energy. Choose sweet potato over usual potato.
🌮During exercise faster release is better as you need it straight away, look for gels or shotblocks and find what best suits and maximised your energy levels
🍏Restrict Fibre: too much can affect digestion negatively mid race
🍩Reduce sugar, protein and fat intake around endurance races, use these to balance meal (protein and fat) but shouldn’t consist as more than 20% of the meal. 80-95% of your daily intake should be carbohydrates The day before.
🍕Avoid eating too much and stuffing yourself in evening. Keep portions well controlled in portion and regularity.
💦Expect temporary weight to increase by up to 4lbs, this shows you are carb loading correctly and storing glycogen plus retaining water. Carbohydrates absorb water and release from the body so ensure you drink between 500ml-1L more water than a usual day when carb loading. This is best completed by have an additional cup of water with each meal.
🥗Everyone’s needs are unique, Trial in training to perfect in race day (consider different brands, amounts and timings of foods)
🌯EXAMPLES (high in slow release carbohydrates for the day before):
Baked sweet potato, wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bagel, brown rice, quinoa, cous cous, butternut squash and porridge oats.
The goal to achieve the best energy state during exercise is to maximise glycogen stores, your body uses both glycogen and fat for energy during half and full marathons however glycogen is a more effective fuel than fat and utilising the above principles will best prepare your glycogen stores.
